Christian Shelter Expands To Accommodate More Guests - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

SALISBURY, Md. - The Christian Shelter of Salisbury works to combat homelessness in our area.

"Over the last several years, as I've worked with the homeless shelter in the area, they've said and shared with me the sad story that often the people they have to turn away are women with children," President of the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore Spicer Bell.

After three years of hard work and a lot of help from community volunteers, they open up eight new family units, a new women's dorm and a laundry room. "The new facility accommodates up to 80 people. That's 30 more spaces for women, children and families in need of emergency shelter.

Their mission? To help people get back on their feet in a relatively short period of time. "The biggest challenge is to see folks change when they go out of here. That they're a little different - that they have a little different sense of who they are and what their lives are about," Shelter Administrator Reverend Jim Barnes said.

For more than 30 years, the shelter has seen the fruits of their labor and continue to make a lasting impact on the community. "Over the years we've had quite a few people who once were guests of the shelter who have come back and volunteered. Their life has progressed to a point of stability where they can begin to give back and they remember this juncture in their life where things being to turn and want to give back here," Board Member David Downes said.

Reverend Barnes tells us future plans are to expand the shelter to facilitate a long-term program, where people would be allowed to stay for a 4 to 6 month period of time.